David Allen

Following his time at Oxford University, David (Dave) Allen joined the Pharma industry as a bench scientist and was awarded successive promotions to eventually spend over two decades as one of the most senior leaders in GSK R&D based in the UK. During his time as Head of Respiratory R&D at GSK, his team discovered and developed seven new respiratory medicines that are available worldwide. He then led GSK's Research Platform organization, comprising many hundreds of highly qualified scientists from multiple disciplines and was a core member of GSK’s scientific governance and research investment boards for over two decades.

Dave has also led many international business and academic collaborations and alliances, has been a member of various university scientific advisory boards, a Board member for the Stevenage science park, a charity Trustee and an Impact Assessor for both REF2014 and REF 2021.  He was awarded an honorary Doctorate for his contributions to drug discovery and made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has recently been appointed visiting Professor at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Dave joined the Francis Crick Institute as Director of Translation in January 2025.